Earlier this week I attended an event organised by Church leaders and attended by over 2000 Christians. The meeting was a call for Christians to step up and play our part in serving our city; working with other agencies to redeem our communities.

What was striking was that at a gathering of Christians not once was the name of Jesus mentioned by any of the hosts and when it came to songs all we were invited to sing were soul classics such as James Brown’s ‘I feel good’.

Did those who organised the event love Jesus? I’m sure they did. Do they desire that many would come to share their faith? Absolutely. So what was it that most troubled me? Simply that the call to Christians to engage in social action was made without Continue reading »

What is pride?

CS Lewis in Mere Christianity describes pride as the greatest sin. What makes pride so deadly and so dangerous is that pride is the essence of sin (for all sin entered the world through the arrogance of one who thought he knew better than God) and yet the most hidden of sins. Tim Keller describes it as ‘the sin that hides itself.’

Fujimura and the 4 Holy Gospels

As someone married to an artist I’ve experienced something of the uneasiness of Christians when it comes to the arts. But why should it be the case that we are pleased to affirm the good and the true but so slow to recognise the beautiful as an expression of God’s image in God-created humanity.

This short video featuring the work of Makoto Fujimura is both inspiring and informative. As Francis Shaeffer has written in Art and the Bible “A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God.”

Crossway have commissioned Fujimura to undertake an illuminated edition of the four Holy Gospels to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

Ideas have consequences. They refuse to stay on paper or merely live on in the minds of those who hear them in the lecture theatre, classroom or worship room. When it comes to matters of belief one of the tests for truth is livability; what sort of individuals and society does such a belief produce. Ravi Zacharias in his book The Real Face of Atheism has said ‘The realities of life, powerfully reinforce the viability of faith in God.’ Christopher Hitchens in his book God is not great: Religion poisons everything profoundly disagrees.

Recent evidence seems to suggest that Hitchens is on the losing side when it comes to the livability test. Toby Young in his blog in today’s Telegraph highlights the conclusion of a mammouth 5 year study into religion and it’s impact on society. The authors of the Continue reading »